.\" Copyright (c) 1980 Regents of the University of California.
.\" All rights reserved. The Berkeley software License Agreement
.\" specifies the terms and conditions for redistribution.
.\" @(#)close.2 6.3 (Berkeley) %G%
close \- delete a descriptor
\fIclose\fP call deletes a descriptor from the per-process object
If this is the last reference to the underlying object, then
For example, on the last close of a file
the current \fIseek\fP pointer associated with the file is lost;
associated naming information and queued data are discarded;
on the last close of a file holding an advisory lock
the lock is released (see further
A close of all of a process's descriptors is automatic on
there is a limit on the number of active descriptors per process,
is necessary for programs that deal with many descriptors.
When a process forks (see
all descriptors for the new child process reference the same
objects as they did in the parent before the fork.
If a new process is then to be run using
the process would normally inherit these descriptors. Most
of the descriptors can be rearranged with
is attempted, but if some of these descriptors will still
be needed if the execve fails, it is necessary to arrange for them
to be closed if the execve succeeds.
For this reason, the call ``fcntl(d, F_SETFD, 1)'' is provided,
which arranges that a descriptor will be closed after a successful
execve; the call ``fcntl(d, F_SETFD, 0)'' restores the default,
which is to not close the descriptor.
Upon successful completion, a value of 0 is returned.
Otherwise, a value of \-1 is returned and the global integer variable
is set to indicate the error.
\fID\fP is not an active descriptor.
accept(2), flock(2), open(2), pipe(2), socket(2), socketpair(2),